Kanawha Scales & Systems was one of thirty-one West Virginia companies presented with the Governor’s Commendation for International Market Entry Award at the end of 2018. The commendation recognizes businesses that exported to a new country for the first time during the previous year. Kanawha Scales & Systems’ international sales team accepted the award for its two train loadouts for iron ore pellets in Algeria.

The presentation was held in the Governor’s Reception Room in the State Capitol and was followed by a reception in the Governor’s Mansion. Based on the tradition of displaying the first dollar a business earns, the commended companies received framed currency from each new country to which the business began exporting. “Exporting helps our businesses meet more customers around the world and grow our economy here at home,” said Governor Jim Justice. “West Virginia goods and services compete and succeed in the global marketplace.”

The honored West Virginia companies, many assisted by the WV Department of Commerce’s Development Office, exported an eclectic mix of products that also included aluminum, bottled tea, plastic compounds, threads, and truck parts. “The WV Department of Commerce and the WV Development Office have been so valuable to us over the years, helping to identify new markets and marketing our loadouts in those new markets around the world,” stated Larry Wigal, Kanawha Scales’ Director of International Sales. “WV businesses have a tremendous resource in the WV Development Office International Division when it comes to marketing products on the international stage.”

Since its first automated loadout installation in 1979, KSS has installed over 250 loadout systems on five continents. The commended project represents the 11th country in which its systems are in place. These are being built in the Djen Djen International Port on the coast of Algeria. The iron ore pellets will be brought to port by ship, unloaded to the loadouts and then onto trains which will take them about 35 kilometers inland to a rebar plant being built by the Algerian Qatari Steel Company.

The loadouts in the commended project were designed and engineered to be operator-attended and automated, which means the operator is there only to verify positioning, begin the loading process, and monitor it in case of an emergency. Once the loading process is started, the PLC/computer control system will automatically batch each wagon and load the ore into the wagon without the operator needing to intervene while the train drives under the loadout. KSS expects to perform the startup and commissioning within the next two months.

About Kanawha Scales & Systems Founded in 1954, Kanawha Scales & Systems is a world leader in the industrial weighing and automation industries. KSS has built its reputation around the highest level of customer support, innovative technology, and dedicated account management required by customers around the world. While KSS provides a wide variety of scales, the company also provides calibrations for a multitude of instruments and scales, superior service, heavy duty scale test equipment, automated truck and rail loadout systems, batching and filling systems, online analyzers, customized industrial solutions, and much more.